A rookie police officer shot and killed a 14-year-old boy on a New York City
street early on Sunday after he refused to drop his gun and pointed it at
them.

Shaaliver Douse died of a single gunshot to his jaw after the confrontation in the Bronx.

Two officers with the New York Police Department were on foot patrol when they heard gunfire at around 3am. The officers responded to the scene and found the boy with a 9mm handgun firing shots at a fleeing man, authorities said.

The officers identified themselves as police and ordered him to drop his weapon, authorities said.

According to the police an handgun recovered at the scene of the shooting had been used by the teen (NYPD)

When he pointed his gun at them, one of the officers shot him, police said. The teenager was pronounced dead at the scene.

Douse's aunt, Quwana Barcene, told the New York Post the boy was an only child.

"It's not fair. It was my sister's only child. You shouldn't have to bury your child," she said.

NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly dismissed claims the officers should have attempted to wound the boy.

“You shoot to stop. You can’t shoot to wound. That only happens in Western movies,” he said. “Regardless of the circumstances, this is a crushing blow to any parent.”

Douse had been in trouble with the law before.

He was charged in May with attempted murder after a 15-year-old boy was shot in a Bronx neighborhood where Douse lived. That shooting took place 2 miles from where Douse was later shot to death.

Douse was also charged with assault, criminal possession of a weapon and menacing in connection to the incident.

The prosecution of Douse was then deferred, said Steven Reed, a spokesman for the Bronx District Attorney’s Office. The office had insufficient evidence to proceed, and the victim was unable to identify his shooter, he said.